Beaches

Life in the Indiana Dunes is like a day at the beach. That’s because we have 15 beautiful miles of award-winning shoreline to explore and nine oh-so-swimmable beaches. Start your day with a hike up a sand dune overlooking Lake Michigan, and end it on the beach below. Fire up the grill and air-dry with a lakeside BBQ, cast a line from the nearby fishing pier and reel in dinner, and somewhere between the windswept tall grasses and your sand-scrubbed feet, you’ll be enchanted by the magic of the Indiana Dunes.

Browse Indiana Dunes Beaches

Safety and Beach Closures

Nine beaches, 15 miles of coastline, and one Great Lake. There are so many elements that make the Indiana Dunes one of the Midwest’s top destinations, the most important being the safety of…

Which Beach to Choose?

With nine different beaches along 15 miles of Lake Michigan's southern shoreline, it's not easy to choose! This guide will help you decide which Indiana Dunes beach is best for your visit.

Indiana Dunes Parks

The Indiana Dunes National Park and the Indiana Dunes State Park offer access to dune-lined shores and endless outdoor adventures. Here you can explore beaches, dunes, prairies, oak savannas, wetlands, rivers, bogs, and forests. In the two parks' combined 17,000+ acres, nearly 2,000 different species of plants and animals have been identified. That makes Indiana Dunes one of the most biodiverse areas in the United States!

Indiana Dunes National Park

Walk on glacial sands, pushed and pulled by time into dunes nearly 250 feet high. Paddle across a 300-mile-long lake with waves and scenery that rival the Atlantic.

Indiana Dunes State Park

Sand, shore, and the space to breathe—over 2,000 acres of it! This isn’t your run of the mill state park, it’s a place shaped by thousands of years of shifting landscapes and…

Backpacks For Naturalists

The Indiana Dunes is one of the most biodiverse parks in the U.S., and the Backpacks for Naturalists program offers free explorer backpacks for daily use.

A white dog sits next to its owner on a log in the sand.

Pet Friendly Dunes

We believe lakeside fun shouldn’t just be reserved for the two-legged kind. Here, you and your furry friend will find plenty of sites, attractions, and accommodations.

Best Of Lists 2 months ago

A brunette woman using a wheelchair looks at the fall colors in the distance. A park ranger points to something out of the picture.

Top Places to Enjoy Fall Colors in the Indiana Dunes

4 minute read

Starting around mid-October, the trees in the Indiana Dunes area explode with vibrant autumn colors. Here are five places you can view the canopies of warm reds, oranges, and yellows that…

Plants and Wildlife 2 months ago

Tick Trefoil seeds completely cover a person's pants

Hitchhiking Seeds: How Plants Travel

4 minute read

It’s the fall seed harvest time of the year. Most days, after spending time in the prairie harvesting native plant seeds that we will sow this winter, I emerge covered in a multitude of…

Indiana Dunes State Park 2 months ago

Indiana Dunes State Park Remains Open During the Federal Government Shutdown

2 minute read

Even if the Indiana Dunes National Park closes on October 1, the Indiana Dunes State Park will remain open and fully staffed during the federal government shutdown. Visitors will have full…